Tag Archives: Auto Technology

Here another Auto Factoid.

Maybe one of the most famous carburetors was the Carter.  Famous, you ask?   Read on.

Will Carter was born in 1884 in Union City, Tennessee.  He opened his first shop when he was only 17 years old where he repaired bikes, guns and anything mechanical.  In 1902 he moved his business to St. Louis, Missouri where it expanded it to include the few cars that were in the “big” city.

It was there that he became familiar with the current issues with regulating fuel (not great quality) for the power plants in those early cars.  Finding them wanting he began as all inventors, experimenting.

His improvements eventually lead to a reputation for providing the best fuel air mixture carburetors available and my 1909 with financial backing from a friend he opened Carter Carburetor Company.  One year later he was granted a patent for his Model C carb, an updraft carb with an air valve. It featured, automatic-multiple jets, with adjustments of low, intermediate and high speeds.

By 1911, just 2 years from opening he had designed the first downdraft carb, using vacuum from the manifold to pump fuel from the gas tank and filling a small bowl above the carb.

In 1915 Will moved this manufacturing into a new building. Financially the company wasn’t doing well under Will’s management and in 1916 filled for reorganization and Will was no longer involved in the management of the company.  In 1922 the company was purchased by American Car and Foundry Company (now called AFC Industries).  The company continued on producing replacement carbs for the next three years.

In 1925 they received their first order for producing original equipment for Chevrolets.  Three years after that Chrysler came calling for original parts and eventually the likes of Ford, Nash and Willys followed.

The next major milestone for the Carter company was in 1952 with the development and marketing of the first of its kind – the four barrel carb. It’s first use was on the Buick straight eight engine.  The new-found horse power and the ability to add more than one carb to the manifold, ‘fuel’ the development of all the super-cars to come.

Carters 1952 4 Barrel Carb

So where’s the famous part?  (As if creating the first every four barrel carb wasn’t enough!!!!) Ok you may have heard of  the Beach Boys, yes?  Yeah that’s right the “409”….my four speed, dual quad Positraction 409..409..409…”   Two Carter four barrels were what was on top of that 409 and it was called the “dual quad” still is today.

The company continued on to a developed the Thermo Quad in the 1970’s (first carb to use a  plastic main body) and followed that up with an electronic choke model.  The company still produced “old school” carbs for the restoration market and new cars.

The company continued on to a developed the Thermo Quad in the 1970’s (first carb to use a  plastic main body) and followed that up with an electronic choke model.  The company still produced “old school” carbs for the restoration market and new cars.

Carters 850 cfm Thermoquad

Some of the common uses back then:

– Chrysler used them on their Hemis and they helped power the “Street Hemi” which sported the quad set up.

– Pontiac use them on their GTO

– Oldsmobile used them

Thanks for reading.

Comments:

Good history on Carter, Tim, but you left out the one Carter product that gave me numerous nightmares and other issues on my old 440 Dodge Coronet. That is the famous AFB.

According to Carter, AFB meant ‘aluminum four barrel’, but as I experienced, in reality it was “an f&%ing b&%ch” (joke told to me by an ol’timer mechanic). It seems the air horn of the aluminum machined surface would oh so slightly warp over various heat cycles and the car would never twice idle the same. Full throttle would cause all kinds of intermittent operation (it bwould either flood, or run lean and the engine would ping to death). To this day I shudder when I hear ‘Carter AFB’.

I learned later that (believe it, or not) Holley has a rebuilding center in Bowling Green, KY, that acutally re-planes the air horns on AFBs and has a ‘propriety’ re-assembly procedure that alleviates the issues. It has something to do with the order and torque of the air horn on re-assembly.

Chrysler loved to use the ol’Carter “BBD” 2 barrels on every 318 and ‘super’ slant 6 made. They were a simple, reliable carb that was plagued with funcky choke pull offs and bi-metal springs. I finally mastered this carb after spending hundreds of hours tinkering with these.

Carter today is owned by conglomerate Federal Mogul. They make Champion spark plugs, ANCO wipers, FelPro gaskets, etc, etc. I believe the AFB is still in production in Mexico, although I can’t understand why anyone would buy one of these when a Holley is such a better product?

Thanks for the trip down (a bad) memory lane. Take care, Bill

Great info..Thanks Bill.